Few Chicago developments in recent memory have received as much attention as Lincoln Yards: a $6 billion plan to turn 55 acres of industrial riverfront real estate between Lincoln Park and Bucktown into a sprawling mixed-use campus.

Here, developer Sterling Bay envisions 14 million-square-feet of high-rise buildings supporting 23,000 full-time jobs and 6,000 residential units as well as 21 acres of parkland, three new bridges, and an extension of The 606 trail. To help pay for the public infrastructure improvements, the company has a deal with the city to receive $1.3 billion in controversial tax increment financing (TIF).

No buildings are under construction yet, but Sterling Bay continues to work to reverse the environmental damage caused during more than a century of industrial use by steel mills, tanneries, and recyclers. The developer also installed new soccer fields on the site’s western edge. The entire Lincoln Yards development is expected to take ten years to build.

While Lincoln Yards looks to build a neighborhood from scratch on Chicago River’s north branch, developer Related Midwest is planning to do the same on the south branch with its 62-acre mixed-use plan known as The 78. The massive project gets its numerical name from Chicago’s 77 official community areas and aspires to grow that number by one.

Located between the South Loop and Chinatown, the development is approved for 13 million square feet of buildings—some rising as high as 950 feet—which are expected to house a combined 10,000 residential units and 24,000 workers. The site is also earmarked for a University of Illinois-affiliated innovation center and 12 acres of open space.

Before work on new buildings can begin, The 78 has its own set of TIF-supported infrastructure improvements that need to happen, including a realignment of the existing Metra tracks, a new riverwalk, an extension of Wells Street, and a $300 million Red Line station proposed for Clark and 15th Street.

A third riverfront megadevelopment will rise roughly halfway between Lincoln Yards and The 78, on 30 acres of Tribune Media-owned land in River West. Known as the River District, the 8.5 million-square-foot project has zoning approval for up to 14 mixed-use buildings, supporting an estimated 4,100 residential units and 19,000 jobs.

Phase one of the River District calls for 1,500 units in two high-rises between Grand Avenue and the Ohio-Ontario feeder ramp. Although Tribune Media said that construction could begin soon, the company is currently seeking a buyer or joint venture partner for its River West megaproject.

Located at the confluence of the main, south, and north branches of the Chicago River, Wolf Point is among the city’s most prominent development sites. After spending decades as a parking lot, the high-profile peninsula will eventually host a trio of glassy skyscrapers.

The 485-foot Wolf Point West apartment tower opened in 2016 and will soon be joined by the 660-foot Wolf Point East rental tower, currently wrapping up construction next door. The final piece of the megadevelopment, an 813-foot-tall Salesforce-anchored Wolf Point South office skyscraper, is on track to break ground in 2020 and open in early 2023.

After decades of construction on more than a dozen mixed-use buildings, downtown’s 28-acre masterplanned Lakeshore East community is just five towers away from being complete. The most visible addition is Jeanne Gang’s Vista Tower, which tops off at 1,191 feet and will open in spring 2020.

The supertall hotel and residential tower will be joined by a 47-story condo building known as Cirrus and a 37-story apartment tower called Cascade, which simultaneously broke ground in 2019. Nearby, zoning is in place for an 80-story residential building at Parcel I. Magellan Development’s last piece of the Lakeshore East puzzle is a 650-foot-tall combination apartment and hotel tower proposed for Parcel O.

The redevelopment of Chicago’s Old Post Office reached an important milestone in late 2019 when the office tenants began moving into the long-vacant 2.8 million-square-foot structure. The three-year Gensler-designed renovation represented the single largest adaptive reuse project in the country and restored Art Deco lobby and created tenant amenities like a fitness center and a huge rooftop deck.

While the Old Post Office is officially open for business, work continues on other aspects of the building like a planned food court and riverwalk. As more companies move in, the transformative project will continue to change the fabric of the Loop’s southwest corner.

The $20 billion One Central proposal would to cap the train tracks west of Soldier Field and build new skyscrapers, parks, and a transit hub above. The 34-acre plan would connect Metra, CTA, and Amtrak trains as well as a proposed “Chi-Line” tramway utilizing the sunken bus lanes between Millennium Park and McCormick Place.

If financing can be secured and local officials sign off on the plan, Landmark hopes to start the three-year process of building the project’s transit center. The full development and its mixed-use high-rises could take more than a decade to complete.

A team led by Farpoint Development and Draper & Kramer has plans to revitalize the long-vacant Michael Reese Hospital site located just south of McCormick Place. Known as the Bronzeville Lakefront, the plan envisions a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, a life sciences campus, a data center, dedicated community spaces, and a new 31st Street Metra station.

The multiphase development would start at the site’s southern edge and would stretch north, eventually growing to between 10 million and 14 million square feet in size. The megaproject requires city approval, and its developers still need to close on the property.

If all goes as planned, work on the Bronzeville Lakefront could begin in the first half of 2021. The entire Bronzeville Lakefront build-out is anticipated to take up to 12 years to complete, according to the development team.

The Michael Reese site isn’t the only large-scale, multi-phased project in the works for the Near South Side. A joint venture led by the Community Builders and partner McCaffery Interests recently broke ground on the first phase of the redevelopment of the demolished Harold L. Ickes public housing complex near the corner of State Street and Cermak Road.

Known as Southbridge, the 13-acre plan is zoned for 972 mixed-income residences to spread across clusters of townhomes, mid-rise buildings, and a 22-story residential tower. It also includes 65,000 square feet of retail, new public plazas, and at least 270 on-site parking spaces.

This sprawling Far South Side site has eluded redevelopment since U.S. Steel closed its manufacturing plant at the mouth of the Calumet River in 1992. But a report surfaced in 2019 stating that actor and rapper Common was partnering with a group of developers to turn it into a mixed-use entertainment destination.

The latest South Works plan has yet be made public, but reportedly includes a film production studio with 15 to 20 sound stages, a performance venue, a climbing wall, and a skate park. There could also be a Greg Norman-affiliated golf practice facility and social club, according to the report. The site was included on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s shortlist for potential locations for Chicago’s first casino.